Owner of Myrtle Beach comedy club accused of hitting security guard with car

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – The owner of a Broadway at the Beach comedy club was arrested Friday night after allegedly hitting a security guard with his vehicle.

Freddie Everett Rick, 52, is charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. He was also cited for careless operation.

Officers responded to the parking lot outside the Carolina Comedy Club around 9:45 p.m. after receiving a call that a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle, according to a Myrtle Beach police report.

Rick told police he was the owner of the comedy club and was trying to deliver items to the store before a security guard told him she could not move the barricade until approval by a supervisor, the report states.

The security guard reported Rick became angry when she told him that she did not know who he was and could only move the barricade for first responders, according to police.

Police said Rick started yelling and cursing at the security guard, a 21-year-old woman, and moved the barricade before driving through and striking her in the knee with his car, the report states.

Surveillance footage matched the woman’s version of events, according to the report. Police said she was taken to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center where tests revealed she suffered a sprained knee.